Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Pollyanna - the magic of perspective.

Today's
paper is about Pollyanna - that
little orphan girl who at 11 was taken in to live with her difficult Aunt
Polly. The latter took care of her out of obligation. She had to live out her
days in a stuffy attic, which was the worst room in the house. It was a bare
and dirty room. But Pollyanna was glad about it because that attic was the
highest point in the house and it had a wonderful view of the surrounding
countryside.

Pollyanna
saw every silver lining in every stormy clouds. Instead of wallowing in an
already bad situation, she chose to celebrate the littlest things in life. And
the only tool she had was a vivid imagination and a hopeful perspective.

One day
during Christmas her penniless clergyman father could not afford to buy her any
gift. So she prayed that there would be a leftover doll in the missionary
barrel so she could play with it. However, what she found was a pair of
clutches instead. Yet she managed to keep her spirits up because she was glad
she didn't need them. She counted her blessings - with what little she had.

Lesson?
Three, and it is led by three quotes.

1) "When we are no longer able to change the
situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."

Now, this
is no chicken feet. Barring those who are prone to depression due to a haywire
brain rewiring, I sincerely believe that circumstances in our life come and go
- the good or bad - but what stays is
how we deal with them. The challenge is not to control everything - like
clockwork - but to control one thing and that is, our perspective of it, our
outlook.

Even in the
worst of circumstances, there is the best of perspective. Those who are able to
survive the Gulags and Auschwitz are able to do so because they did two things
right. First, they distracted themselves from the doom and gloom by imagination
- thinking about good times and keeping busy with work. And second, they looked
beyond the dread and dreary and clung on to hope regardless. This is not
delusional. It is call living - even thriving. For it is said that we are to
light tomorrow with today.

2) "Water which is too pure has no fish."

And a
corollary of that is that a life which is too smooth has no growth. It is said
that there is more danger in a trial that you don't face than a trial that you
do. Oftentimes, what doesn't kill you will not only make you stronger, it also
makes you wiser. It is that price of a trial that is priceless.

Honestly, I
do not know which is the greater delusion (if any): To tell ourselves that life
is controllable to the last dial (as long as we play neurotically by the rules)
or that come what may, we will take it in our stride and outlast all trials
with hope and faith. For it is once said that "I have loved the stars too
fondly to be fearful of the night." And that's the silver lining in the
brightest of light.

And

3) "In three words I can sum up everything I've
learned about life: It goes on." (Robert Frost).

My dear
friends, like it or not, life goes on. The only question is this: "Are you
coming along or staying behind?" The minutes and hours - even days - are
not going to stop for you. No doubt there is a season for everything. For
tears, for joy, for sorrow, and for healing. But it is only for a season. After
that, life goes on.

It is said
that misery is optional and sadness is not. Our world is not going to be less
joyful just because of a tinge of sadness (look at the movie "Inside out"). But our world will
stagnant and rot with misery.

Pollyanna
knew her circumstances. She is not going to pretend that all's well and swell.
But she also knew that when life throws stones at you, you can choose not to
dwell on the bruises. But instead, pick them up and use them as stepping stones
- carrying the bruises with you as they heal eventually.

Life indeed
goes on. On your part, you can either ride on it or watch it all go by

Let me end with this
quote: "Life continues to be a
mystery too great to understand. I only know that I cling to it. I fear its
cessation - death. I dread its diminution - pain. I seek its enlargement - joy."
Cheerz.